Ft. Lauderdale to Chicago with Amtrak - Day 2/3 (w/Pictures)

Note: This entry is being submitted from the Metropolitan Lounge in Chicago's Union Station, on our return trip! (First free WiFi connection since Washington on the outbound trip).

When the time came to board The Capital we did so directly from the lounge and ahead of all other passengers. The upgraded bedroom was really nice with room for a third person (probably a child). A private toilet which also doubled as a shower was also very nice. There was a bench seat across the room with a single seat by the window in addition. The bench seat folds down to form a small double bed and there is also a fold down upper berth which we didn't use.

When it was time for dinner we decided to eat in the room and our car attendant took our order and brought it to us. We ended up sleeping much better than the previous night although there were some rough spots! But overall the trip was quite a bit smoother but I'm not sure if this was due to smoother track or being on the second level of a Superliner! Maybe a bit of each?

When we went to bed the train was on time; when we woke up we were in Toledo and about an hour late! We went to the dining car for breakfast and found it to be quite a bit nicer than the Viewerliner one. Once again it was on the second level where most everything seems to be with the whole level being devoted to seating. It would seem the food preparation is done on the lower level.

The lower level of the sleeping cars appear to have additional sleeping accommodations along with some washrooms and showers. The Lounge car also was much brighter with more comfortable seating. While walking around we were also able to see the roomettes of which we will be using one on the return trip. Wow, do they seem small!

Anyway, we were able to make up some time and arrived in Chicago only 25 minutes late. A short cab ride to the hotel and we had arrived! It was about 9.30 AM and our room was, of course, not ready. (Check in time is 3.00 PM).

They took our baggage and promised to try make our room available as quickly as possible. At this point we had a chat with the (very helpful) concierge about how to fill in the time! First thing we did was take advantage of the free cooked breakfast the hotel offers every day. (Of course, you are paying for it indirectly).

It was a buffet breakfast offering just about everything you might want along with an omelette station. What struck us was that anyone could just walk in off the street and take advantage of the service!

After that we walked a couple of blocks and took one of those on/off tours around the city which lasted about two and a half hours. We just stayed on it for the entire trip to simply get a feeling for the city! We arrived back at the hotel about 1.30 PM to find our room was now ready. Time to unpack and relax a little!

A little later we went back out for a walk around the immediate area arriving back about 5.30 PM to take advantage of another "free" feature of the hotel: The daily Manager's Reception! An open bar and snacks for two hours! For this one they do require that you show your room key to get served and will only serve one drink at a time (state law).

After another walk around the area we had an early night to try to catch up after the time zone change and the two rather rough previous nights!